“No disrespect, but I’m not sure the shirt fits the song”: Alex Skolnick critiques Darius Rucker’s Metallica T-shirt during NYE performance

The New Year’s Eve celebrations on CNN featured a lineup of stars welcoming 2024 on stage. Among them was the rock and country artist Darius Rucker, whose lively sing-along “Beers and Sunshine” proved to be a fitting anthem for a positive start to the new year.

However, Alex Skolnick, the guitarist for Testament, had specific criticism regarding Rucker’s choice of attire. Speaking on X, the thrash metal guitarist remarked, “No disrespect, but I’m not sure the shirt fits the song.”

Rucker’s fans weren’t entirely pleased with the comment, with one user noting, “A bit of a cheap shot,” and another asking, “Can’t country musicians be fans of heavy metal bands?”

Skolnick later clarified that his comment was not intended as a jab at Rucker but was merely an observation on the contrast between Metallica’s dark, brooding era and the lively spirit of “Beers and Sunshine.”

“Not a cheap shot, just an observation,” he stated. “Metallica is some very non-party music; it’s an interesting choice for a song called Beers and Sunshine, that’s all.”

Responding to another user, he added, “Nothing wrong with it. I’m not sure why anyone would get offended. I was just live tweeting about many things on TV. In this case, early Metallica brings to mind songs about wаr, deаth, mentаl anguish, etc., so it was funny to see paired with a song like Beers and Sunshine.”

While the shimmering country twang of “Beers and Sunshine” contrasts with Metallica’s brooding darkness, Rucker himself has been a vocal admirer of Metallica for years. His 2021 performance of “Nothing Else Matters” for the charity record “The Metallica Blacklist” is widely appreciated.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Rucker explained how “Nothing Else Matters” was the perfect fit for him to cover, emphasizing its versatility across genres. “A great song can be played any way,” he noted. “You play it reggae, heavy, country – it will still be a great song.”

Reflecting on his admiration for Metallica, Rucker said, “When Hootie & the Blowfish were making and selling records, Metallica was that band that made me feel so wimpy. I would listen to their records, and I was such a fan of James Hetfield’s singing, and the guitar was so hard. I knew that that was something that we would never – or could never – do.”